Astellas strengthens I-O pipeline with buy of Xyphos

Adding to its $3 billion offer for Audentes Therapeutics earlier this month, Japanese drug major Astellas Pharma (TYO: 4503) yesterday announced that it has acquired privately-held US biotech firm Xyphos Biosciences, which was created in November 2017 as a spin-out from AvidBiotics,

With the acquisition Astellas will gain Xyphos' novel and proprietary ACCEL (Advanced Cellular Control through Engineered Ligands) technology platform, as well as industry-leading immuno-oncology (I-O) talent, to develop new and potentially better ways to mobilize, target and control immune cells to find, modulate and destroy targeted cells throughout the body. Shares in Astellas gained 0.7%, outperforming a largely flat broader market yesterday.

"At Astellas, immuno-oncology is a Primary Focus of our research and development strategy, and we are working on the development of next-generation cancer immuno-therapy using new modalities/technologies," said Kenji Yasukawa, president and chief executive of Astellas. "The innovative technology in development at Xyphos fits perfectly in advancing our immuno-oncology strategy to create and deliver value for patients. Combining this technology with our capabilities in cell therapy that we have been working on so far, we can create next-generation high-function cells and maximize the value of our technology. We look forward to working with Xyphos' superb team to advance and expand their clinical development programs to bring their novel therapeutics to patients,” he added.